The interviewer asked each of them to write down the one thing that contributed most to their success. Both independently wrote "focus".
https://www.inc.com/marc-emmer/bill-gates-warren-buffett-rev...
I remember reading the book The Goal in business school. What impressed me the most, was that the most efficient path to achieving a goal, is often non-intuitive, and sometimes even involves making destructive choices - choices that outside observers would find absurd and distasteful.
https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...
It's not only about choosing a singular goal, it's also about meticulously calculating your path there.
Don't follow the herd. The pack is FULL of jack-of-all-trades that have a smattering of random skills they picked up. Make literally every life choice with directionality and planning.
https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...
https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Busine...
In a non-startup company there is generally one bottleneck that holds the organization back and has to be controlled
https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0...
In a startup company or if you are trying to develop a "revolutionary" product there are usual several bottlenecks that need to be attacked. For instance going to the moon you have to solve problems from a list such as
if you are looking at a 10% improvement you need to find the one bottleneck (e.g. "The Goal") if you need to get a 10x improvement you will hit several bottlenecks on the way there and the writings of W.L. Livingston applyhttps://www.amazon.com/Have-Fun-at-Work-Livingston/dp/093706...
When you use goals to "destroy the competition" or "change the world", goals are a powerful technique. If you are setting goals because somebody told you to set goals or somebody else sets goals you are going to drive yourself to distraction.